Overnight Summary

Each Market In Focus

Australian shares look set to open sharply lower after key markets around the globe tumble, with the worst falls on Wall Street.
At 0700 AEDT on Tuesday, the share price futures index was down 139 points, or 2.33 per cent, at 5,822.
In economic news on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia holds its monthly board meeting and announces its interest rate decision.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases December retail trade figures, plus international trade in goods and services data, also for December.
Meanwhile, the ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence weekly survey is due out.
No major equities news is expected.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 95.2 points, or 1.56 per cent, to 6,026.2 points while the broader All Ordinaries index tumbled 101.4 points, or 1.63 per cent, to 6,128.4 points.

Stock markets have been routed around the globe, with Wall Street leading the charge lower in percentage terms.
US stocks’ losses accelerated in afternoon trading on Monday, pushing the S&P 500 down more than 5 per cent from its January 26 record high and the Dow below 25,000 for the first time since January 4.
The Dow and S&P 500 also fell below their 50-day moving averages, while the Cboe Volatility index was on pace for its largest one-day jump since August 2015.
In late trading, the S&P energy index, down 3.4 per cent, led declines as oil prices were pressured by rising US output and other factors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 594.71 points, or 2.33 per cent, at 24,926.25, the S&P 500 had lost 57.18 points, or 2.07 per cent, to 2,704.95 and the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 110.38 points, or 1.52 per cent, to 7,130.57.

Copper prices rose Monday, lifted by investors’ hopes for stronger global economic growth.
Front-month copper for February delivery added 1.1% to $3.2105 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are slightly below nearly four-year highs hit in late December, but some analysts expect the industrial metal to continue rising as the year progresses.
IRON ORE: $73.95 +1.49(March contract)

Oil prices dropped Monday, with the U.S. benchmark settling at its lowest in two weeks.
Prices tracked the sharp losses in the U.S. stock market, with strength in the dollar and ongoing concerns over rising U.S. crude production contributing additional pressure.

The dollar rose Monday, as investors sought shelter amid a selloff in stocks.
The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of 16 others, was recently up 0.2% at 83.74.
Fears of rising inflation and higher government bond yields battered stocks Monday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 400 points and the S&P 500 lost more than 1%, heading toward its first three-day loss since September.
Volatility in stocks pushed some investors to unwind equity bets and head to the dollar, a popular destination for market participants during turbulent times. The Japanese yen, another haven, also rose. The dollar is also benefiting from robust U.S. employment data, reported Friday.
Australian dollar:
The Australian dollar has continued to gently slide against a stronger US counterpart despite the latter pausing from its US jobs data and wages growth inspired lift.
At 0635 AEDT on Tuesday, the Australian dollar was worth 79.06 US cents, down from 79.36 US cents on Monday.

European stocks suffered a sharp sell-off as growing inflation expectations and rising bond yields took their toll on equity markets.
Europe’s STOXX 600 fell 1.6 per cent to close at its lowest level since mid-November 2017. It was its sixth straight day of declines for the STOXX, while euro zone stocks fell 0.6 per cent.
Germany’s DAX lost 0.76 per cent to close at 12,687.49.
Among major European equity markets, only Spain and Italy are still higher than at the turn of the year, with Britain the worst performer. German bond yields hit a two-year high as fears of inflation drove a sustained sell-off in bond markets.
Company earnings provided little solace to investors.
A survey showing Britain’s economy slowed sharply in January added to the pressure on London’s key index.
The FTSE lost 1.46 per cent to 7,334.98 and has fallen more than 4.5 per cent year to date, partly weighed down by a continued recovery in the pound from post-Brexit lows.

Key Asian markets, except China, were no different with Tokyo losing more than two per cent and Hong Kong more than one per cent.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed as much as 2 per cent, its largest daily drop since late 2016.
Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 2.55 per cent to close at 22,682.08.
Hong Kong stocks ended lower but recouped much of their earlier losses sparked by a slide on Wall Street, as investors hunted for bargains via the Stock Connect linking the mainland and Hong Kong.
The Hang Seng closed down 1.09 per cent at 32,245.22.
Chinese shares bucked the region’s tumble as investors scooped up blue chips such as banks and mainland investors also piled into battered big-caps listed in Shanghai.
The Shanghai Composite index, which opened 1.5 per cent lower, ended the session up 0.73 per cent at 3,487.38, while the blue-chip CSI300 Index also reversed losses, closing up 0.07 per cent at 4,274.15.
The benchmark S/NZX 50 Index fell 2.1 per cent, to 8241.83.

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